Centuries worth of faith is compressed into a single soundbite today. (RNS)

Join us on our podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

Quick! The cameras are rolling! Cue the religion scholar to compress centuries of religious history into a sound bite, elucidate complex theology in eight-word sentences — and guard against any stereotyping.

Religion scholars face such challenges when they comment on breaking news or serve as advisers to television and film producers.

Their goal is to ensure accuracy and avoid offense in media that portray the lives of the faithful and chronicle the impact of religious ideas, institutions and leaders.

But the role is a stretch and a risk for scholars.

Popular entertainment media stress "the opposite of what is rewarded in academia, where you burrow into arcane and narrow subjects," said Boston University professor of religion Stephen Prothero, speaking on a panel at the recent American Academy of Religion's annual conference.

He served as an editorial adviser on the 2010 series "God in America." It was structured to cover four centuries through 18 stories in 20-minute segments. The six-hour PBS series was well-received by TV reviewers and the general public, he said. But other scholars called it "simplistic and full of holes, triumphalist and irresponsible to contemporary scholarship."

That's legitimate but off target, said Prothero: "It's like reading a haiku and saying, 'Gee, it would be great if it were just two lines longer.'"

Loyola Marymount University professor of theological studies Amir Hussain has worked both in film and with many TV series, including Morgan Freeman's "The Story of God." He enjoyed Freeman's look at diversity among and within religions, and generally finds TV series allow more time to develop characters, showing how traditions and practices are integrated into their lives. He offered the example of the series "Community," in which "one of the college students just happens to be Muslim."

Beyond the problems of minority stereotyping, advisers are on the lookout for errors. Hussain recalled an episode of "House" in which a faith healer cast out demons in the name of God.

Related Articles

"Hogwash! Evangelicals know very well that demons are only cast out in the name of Jesus," Hussain said.

Candida Moss, theology professor at the University of Manchester, England, and consultant for the History Channel series "The Bible," spotted a blooper in a script where pregnant Mary assures Joseph that she "had not been with anyone else."

No! Moss insisted. Dump the "else." Mary was a virgin, remember?

Moss is a frequent CBS News commentator when religion is in the headlines. In her experience, she would rather face a live TV camera with just seconds to explain early Christian martyrdom, for example, than consult for shows and documentaries where "you have no control over how your comments will be edited."

The second year of writer-producer Reza Aslan's CNN series "Believer," exploring faith traditions around the globe, was abruptly canceled after Aslan called President Trump "a piece of [expletive]" in a tweet that has since been deleted.

Aslan later tweeted that he understood CNN's need to "protect its brand" but, he concluded, "I need to honor my voice."

At the Boston meeting, Aslan, who has taught religion and writing at universities, said he still believes TV and film are valuable avenues where "you can transform the ways people think about religion."

Your Turn

Please be considerate and respectful of your fellow posters. If Jesus and your mother would not approve of your writing, you should revise your comment before submitting.

Use standard writing style and punctuation. Complete sentences and proper grammar will help others understand you.

Do not use profanity, obscenities, abusive language or otherwise objectionable content (as determined by Charisma Media moderators, in their sole discretion). Comments should not harass, abuse or threaten another's personal safety or property, make false statements, defame or impersonate someone else.

Do not question others' faith just because you disagree with them. It adds nothing to the discussion and only causes strife.

Do not question why someone comes to this website just because they disagree with you or the content of the article.

Do not post personal information including phone numbers, email or mailing addresses, or credit card information belonging to you or others.

Do not include copyrighted content or other intellectual property that you do not own or have the explicit rights or lisenses to distribute.

Do not post, directly or through links, viruses, misleading, malicious or off-topic content.

Please consider the following statements pertaining to comments posted by you and other visitors to our website:

Appearance of comments, advertisements or hyperlinks made by other commenters on this site do not necessarily indicate or constitute acceptance of or endorsement of the products, companies, corporations, ministries, organizations or agencies in whole or in part by staff members and/or the members of the editorial board of Charisma Media.

Comments are not pre-screened before they post. Charisma Media reserves the right to modify or remove any comment that does not comply with the above guidelines and to deny access of your Disqus account to make additional comments to the website without any notice. If you have been denied access to comment due to a violation of these terms please do not create multiple accounts in an attempt to circumvent the system. The correct course of action is to request a review of your account status by contacting webmaster@charismamedia.com.

Charisma Media is not responsible or liable in any way for comments posted by its users.

If you believe a comment is in violation of the above guidelines, U.S. law or International treaties, or is legitimate "trolling" please flag the post or contact webmaster@charismamedia.com. Include a link to the comment, along with a statement explaining what you believe the violation is and any evidence backing your claim. Charisma Media moderators will consider your request and decide on the most appropriate action.